Author Topic: DanF's new wind turbine  (Read 2846 times)

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(unknown)

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DanF's new wind turbine
« on: April 07, 2005, 02:32:54 PM »





8 foot plastic prop and hub from Art, single magnet rotor (hopefully will not overheat the stator in high winds), and CUSTOM TIE-DYED HIPPY STATOR! It almost completely stopped the wind yesterday, but we did see 8 amps out of it. Very responsive, no low-speed stalling at all. The single magnet rotor design doesn't have a complete magnetic circuit, but so far appears very well matched to the blade size. New anemometer on the tower is the next project. Higher winds forecast for this afternoon, and gusts to 45 forecast for tomorrow here. We'll see if she holds together -- I bet she will -- and the mill starts up in very low winds, and cuts in at around 180 RPM as predicted. Very smooth running, though you can hear cut-in and alternator hum in the house since the tower top is bracketed to my roof rafters. I don't mind -- that's the sound of 'Lektricity comin' in!


My house sure looks funny from this angle -- viewed from the North. It's way different from the other side -- tons of glass -- just no windows in the north wall for preserving heat, and no solar input from north.

DANF

« Last Edit: April 07, 2005, 02:32:54 PM by (unknown) »

ADMIN

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Re: DanF's new wind turbine
« Reply #1 on: April 07, 2005, 08:34:19 AM »
Dang, he beat me by 2 minutes! Darn that DanB. No beer for him today.

DANF
« Last Edit: April 07, 2005, 08:34:19 AM by ADMIN »

DanB

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Re: DanF's new wind turbine
« Reply #2 on: April 07, 2005, 08:36:11 AM »
Dang...

« Last Edit: April 07, 2005, 08:36:11 AM by DanB »
If I ever figure out what's in the box then maybe I can think outside of it.

Flux

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Re: DanF's new wind turbine
« Reply #3 on: April 07, 2005, 10:09:35 AM »
Looks real nice, I think you will enjoy the hum when it is going well.


Flux

« Last Edit: April 07, 2005, 10:09:35 AM by Flux »

picmacmillan

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Re: DanF's new wind turbine
« Reply #4 on: April 07, 2005, 10:10:59 AM »
looks good dan :) ..if danb beat you by 2 minutes, maybe you stopped by the beer fridge before posting, and danb, waited til after posting :) long as he didnt get your last beer, i think you will be o.k...nice looking machine :) pickster
« Last Edit: April 07, 2005, 10:10:59 AM by picmacmillan »

JB

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Re: DanF's new wind turbine
« Reply #5 on: April 07, 2005, 02:06:45 PM »
thats a good old tune dynamo hum  but i thought that was the mothers of inventions. but inventors none the least. lol  JB
« Last Edit: April 07, 2005, 02:06:45 PM by JB »

stevesteve

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Re: DanF's new wind turbine
« Reply #6 on: April 07, 2005, 04:42:32 PM »
Looks good Dan.


I've been lurking here for a week or two as I am trying to work out how to get my greenhouse off-grid (starting small!).


Oe thing that does concern me. How do you protect your house from lightning? I know that a lightning rod should be spraying out electrons to try to avoid a strike but will that actually protect your place (thinking of all the nice photos of tower cranes etc being struck)?


One of the reasons I am interested in your set-up is that I only have a small plot here in the UK (by American standards) so if I was to get a tower it might have to be near the house (if I could get planning permission).

 

« Last Edit: April 07, 2005, 04:42:32 PM by stevesteve »

nothing to lose

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Re: DanF's new wind turbine
« Reply #7 on: April 08, 2005, 12:39:29 AM »
No guy wires, I like that, nice and clean smooth look. Nice house too.


"and gusts to 45 forecast for tomorrow here. We'll see if she holds together -- I bet she will -- and the mill starts up in very low winds, and cuts in at around 180 RPM as predicted. Very smooth running, though you can hear cut-in and alternator hum in the house since the tower top is bracketed to my roof rafters"


OOOhh, grab some ear plugs! Did you use rubber mounts or anythng to dampen the sound transfers to the house?? I thought gennies were supposed to buzz a bit while runing? How much hum is that? Very curious about 45mph winds (or higher) and any noise you get.


When I was at Arts place looking at his, they went really wild speeds in strong gusts a few times, he has lower power mills for lower average winds, and when those things hit sonic speed they swiishhh  a bit. They looked great, nice and solid, but I did hear a little bit of noise at high speeds. I actaully liked it, but that's a 30' pipe tower not connected to the house. His mills furl well and are a pretty nice setup, I liked them, but as I recall I think I saw the blades go nearly invisable a couple times. Perhaps I exagerate a wee bit. They were fast though!


 Post how they do in the 45mph winds and the noise they might make, I'm really interested in that myself. Course with the heavier mills they probably won't go as fast like they did with the lower powered mills. I have no dought they will hold up well, they are good and strong!


How do you think the stator will hold up with this new design if you want to shut it down for some reason, shorting it out. Will it hold against the power of the blades to keep it shut down?


I saw Arts running mill producing 15V-18V at 4amps and higher, basic normal winds for me here, he had the second mill shut down, but the blades still spun it up pretty well at times in gusts and higher winds. They might have only been fighting against 100 watts or so of breaking power though.


I am dying to get a gennie up with these blades now, but of course it started raining again here. I thought the hub bolt pattern looked close to the same as a 4 bolt 84 mercury I am about to rip apart for parts and want to try the blade hub on there before I put them together. Holding it to the wheel it looks the same, like a perfect fit, but I have not got a wheel off yet, it started raining before I had a chance.

 If these do fit those mercury hubs you know what I am build to put my blades on later, or a second set of them. T-birds of 84-85 are the same bolt patern as the mercuries too. I am hoping these fit!!


 8 amps, I forgot what volts you wired that one for.

« Last Edit: April 08, 2005, 12:39:29 AM by nothing to lose »

DanB

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Re: DanF's new wind turbine
« Reply #8 on: April 08, 2005, 05:38:17 AM »
DanF's mill shorts nicely - we've stopped it dead from pretty high speeds.  The noise doesnt seem bad either... but we've not had much wind yet.  Predictions of high winds on Thursday never came true... perhaps today!
« Last Edit: April 08, 2005, 05:38:17 AM by DanB »
If I ever figure out what's in the box then maybe I can think outside of it.

ADMIN

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Re: DanF's new wind turbine
« Reply #9 on: April 08, 2005, 09:29:20 AM »
We used rubber buffers on the tower for the 2 house mount brackets...it was not quite enough to damp all the alternator vibration, but I don't mind (so far). It's a low hum when the alternator is making about 2 amps, and has not gotten any worse up to 13 amps -- but we've not seen high winds yet.....expecting some this afternoon.


The reasons for the next-to-house mount -- my house is in the only ideal wind spot on my property. I'm running 12v so i can't go too far away. There are some other spots, but they would involve cutting down some very large, healthy, old and beautiful Ponderosa Pines--just can't bring myself to do it.


Plus, this arrangement makes adjustments and modifications to the turbine easy.....lower the stub down to roof level with a rope and pulley, and do all turbine work while standing safely on the roof, then just hoist it back up again and put ni the stop pin.. Will make changing blades, alternator, new turbine, etc. very easy if needed.

DANF

« Last Edit: April 08, 2005, 09:29:20 AM by ADMIN »

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Re: DanF's new wind turbine
« Reply #10 on: April 08, 2005, 09:40:23 AM »
Hi Steve.

I've got one of the best grounding systems in our area--if I do say so myself--and have never lost any equipment to lightning--while neighbors had Trace DR series inverters dropping like flies one summer a few years back.


My main system negative buss bar is tied with #0000 welding cable to a 1.5 inch galvanized pipe, 8 feet long, buried right under the tower in my drip line. The pipe has 4,  4-foot ground rods pounded in the ground under it and bonded to it with clamps (couldnt go deeper -- solid rock). The tower is bonded directly to the pipe with clamps also.


In theory, the tower should help protect the house by acting as a lightning rod and throwin' them extra electrons from the thunderstorm into the air so they don't build up and create a charge imbalance. In practice, the grounding system has already saved my house and computer gear -- there's a tree 200 feet away whose top is below my upper roofline that's been struck twice in the 14 years I've been here, and nothing's ever fried in the house.


DANF

« Last Edit: April 08, 2005, 09:40:23 AM by ADMIN »

nothing to lose

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Re: DanF's new wind turbine
« Reply #11 on: April 08, 2005, 12:54:54 PM »
"there's a tree 200 feet away whose top is below my upper roofline that's been struck twice in the 14 years "


You got to learn to stop moving those trees around, don't you know lightning never strikes twice in the same place.


 That's interesting on your ground system. I been wondering what I will do for my tall poles on the building when I get it up. Metal building with at least 4 pipes for towers, one each corner, and I actually plan to have more than that.


Having looked at a couple of my dead trees recently I been wondering if I should store cars in that building or the aluninum oxides from the lye/hydrogen experiments. That much steel in the air I might be able to turn it back to aluminum there :(

« Last Edit: April 08, 2005, 12:54:54 PM by nothing to lose »

nothing to lose

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Re: DanF's new wind turbine
« Reply #12 on: April 08, 2005, 02:10:09 PM »
 I read the other post too now.

"There are some other spots, but they would involve cutting down some very large, healthy, old and beautiful Ponderosa Pines--just can't bring myself to do it."


 I wish I had some of those, see further down about my junk trees, bad soil, too many rocks, bugs???


  I like the way you mounted it, tower and all. And that does look good for mantainance etc..

 If I had a tall house like that I think I would do the same also. My rinky trailer house is maybe 12' at the tallest end, and of course that's only because the ground slopes down alittle, not a help for tower height!


"lower the stub down to roof level with a rope and pulley, and do all turbine work while standing safely on the roof, then just hoist it back up again and put ni the stop pin.. Will make changing blades, alternator, new turbine, etc. very easy if needed."


I'd like one like that myself, like I said before you guy are always an inspiration.


How strong you think the tower would be without the house supporting it and with out guy wires. Like for a shorter tower, maybe smaller mill or same size.


I have been playing/testing a bad setup just to see what happens here. I have a motor conversion with 2 blade about 4-5' dia barrel blades, not real heavy not that light. The tower is 1 or 1 1/2' conduit, single pole. Base sits on a porch floor and it's tied to a 2x4 stud several places. the height above the trailer is about 6-7'. As expected it's a bit weak and sways a bit, swings around, leans etc.. but so far it has not bent over or snapped. I get power from it, but not what I should of course. Had some pretty good winds since I put it up like that. I thought about guy wires to the roof to hold one steady  but changed my mind about the guy wires. I had lots of that conduit and figured I'll have more of these smaller mills, but I don't want the guy wires and would have to have them using that thin stuff, though I think it would work fine.


I think I will put one up in that location for real now.

I am thinking maybe since this so far has worked, maybe the same basic setup I am using and a lattice tower like yours would get it up to maybe 10' above the trailer and without the swaying. I need it to be removable, eventually I am planning to move everything here except the well. When the trailer moves the tower moves, so I don't want concrete and not a good place for guy wires. I am thinking put the bottom section in a 55gallon barrel and pack with dirt for a base. Maybe put 6"-1' of concrete in the bottom of the barrel also.

I could move that with my engine lift. Should prevent sinking into the ground and hold the base solid. I might dig down and sit it in the ground about 8" or so, then it can't slide or be pushed to the side. Barrel would spread the weight. Then I am thinking perhaps bolt the top section to the trailer. Not alot to work with here, only about an 8' tall wall. Not alot of area to bolt to. Depending on the slope of the ground and the end of the trailer I would have about 10'from ground to the trailer roof up to about 14' at the other corner of the trailer. Then I would want above that height another 10' from the roof.

 Do you think it would work out well for that?


 Also I hope to have a single or daul rotor finnaly built and be using the Art blades on it. Would you think a tower like I said would support it?

 Of course when I build a tower I would not use the small conduit, probably a section of 2" pipe. Maybe 2 1/2" with a 2" or so inside so it can be raised/lowered like yours.


My other thought is topping out a couple of my trees and placing guy wires on them at the top. I have a couple fairly big ones I think need topped out. They rot out inside around here, look healthy from the outside, then snap in the middle and fall. One just dropped it's top on my T-bird awhile back :(

 Looks healthy all the way up to where it broke, and from a distance the section on the car looked healthy too. But rotten in the center! I am thinking I'll know the condition when I top them out and the top most branches will come down too. So might make decent towers for a few years or so. Use Arts style 55gal water barrel anchores on them.


Any thoughts on such things, or advice. I should be needing a tower fairly soon! :)

« Last Edit: April 08, 2005, 02:10:09 PM by nothing to lose »